Review of The Descendants (2011) by Sgt. C — 20 Oct 2014

(79%).

A fine character based study with superb performances from a talented cast with George Clooney leading the way with a wonderful performance as a man living in paradise and going through hell. Along with Clooney, Robert Forster is great as a bitter old man, yet his bitterness is at the very least partly understandable, and that is what this gets so right in that every character is a real person with actual flaws, and both good and bad tropes interwoven into them all. It would have been easy for this to fall into a well cast TV drama movie, but it's way too well put together for that with its gentle pace, nice observations, a few good laughs, and brilliant writing. Overall it may not be a remarkable film, but it is a must watch slice of quality drama.